On Friday, Drake dropped his first full-length project since his feud with Kendrick Lamar took over hip-hop last year.
Many expected the album—arriving just a week after Lamar’s show-stealing Super Bowl performance—to serve as a major counterstrike in their ongoing battle. Instead, for most of its hour-plus runtime, Drake seems focused on everything but that.
$ome $exy $ongs 4 U is a collaborative effort with PartyNextDoor, the elusive rapper-producer signed to Drake’s OVO Sound label. Across 21 tracks—an unsurprising length given Drake’s streaming-era approach—there are only a few indirect nods to Lamar.
“Drake elimination, fake intimidation,” he raps at the start of Gimme a Hug, the album’s 10th track. “Take a minute, take a deep breath, have a little bit of patience.”
Later in the song, he continues: “Funny how it’s only bitch n***** that are waiting on the boy’s obituary / ’Cause if I die, it’s these n***** that become the sole beneficiary.” In the second verse, he makes his stance clear: “Fuck a rap beef, I’m tryna get the party lit.”
Beyond that, it’s business as usual for Drake. Like his recent albums, this one leans on moody beats and atmospheric production, with bars about wealth, women, and status. He also manages to name-drop another pop star—this time with the baffling line, “Bitch, I feel like Tate McRae” in Small Town Fame.
In one sense, $ome $exy $ongs 4 U plays right into one of Lamar’s biggest criticisms: that Drake avoids direct confrontation. “I hate the way that you sneak diss, if I catch flight, it’s gon’ be direct,” Lamar rapped on Euphoria, his first diss track in their feud.
Drake’s “sole beneficiary” lyric in Gimme a Hug is a clear jab, but it doesn’t compare to Lamar calling him out by name multiple times—whether in Euphoria, Not Like Us, or even during the Super Bowl halftime show.
But realistically, what else can Drake do? Fans and critics alike have already declared Lamar the winner. He dissed Drake on the country’s biggest stage—watched by 133.5 million people—and turned it into a viral moment. That’s nearly impossible to outdo.
And yet, despite the relentless attacks, Drake remains as relevant as ever. His history proves that ignoring beef might be his best move forward.
This isn’t the first time he’s taken a major L. Back in 2018, Pusha T exposed that Drake had a secret son in The Story of Adidon, rapping: “You are hiding a child, let that boy come home.”
Drake later admitted, “I tip my hat to the chess move. It was a genius play… and definitely warranted my first ‘loss’ in rap.”
Still, he barely stumbled. His 2018 album Scorpion confirmed Pusha’s claims but largely ignored the beef—and shattered records anyway. It debuted at No. 1, broke Spotify’s single-day streaming record, and surpassed The Beatles’ decades-old Hot 100 achievement.
Lamar’s attacks, however, were far harsher. Accusations like “Certified lover boy, certified pedophile” are infinitely more damaging—allegations Drake has denied repeatedly.
Yet, history suggests casual listeners may not care. Plenty of high-profile artists have survived worse. Chris Brown, for example, continued to release top-charting albums and win Grammys despite his long history of assault allegations.
Drake’s position is even more secure. He’s a bigger star than Brown ever was. Right now, he’s touring Australia and New Zealand, selling out arenas night after night.
Sure, his image has taken a hit. Some fans will never see him the same way again. But that doesn’t mean they’re going to stop listening.